Flash forward several years: Graham has retired to Florida with his wife Molly (Mary-Louise Parker) and his young son. There, Will is visited by FBI boss Jack Crawford (Harvey Keitel) and finds himself agreeing to help to help profile a serial killer dubbed the Tooth Fairy (Ralph Fiennes), one Francis Dolarhyde. He murders families, breaking into their homes at night, attacking the female victims and leaving bite marks.
Frustrated, Graham pays a visit to Lechter for help in catching Dollarhyde. The meetings between the two men are wrought with tension. Edward Norton does a good job of mixing confidence with some level of fear. Even so, I don’t think he seemed emotionally exhausted enough given his repeated attempts to get inside Lechter’s head. Ralph Fiennes is the epitome of evil as the memorable Francis Dollarhyde. Kudos also go to Emily Watson for her portrayal of Reba McClane, Francis Dolarhyde’s love interest.
Ted Tally’s adaptation of Thomas Harris’s novel delivers all the highpoints as well as additional scenes with Lechter that fans will appreciate. Anthony Hopkins continues to elicit fear with every word he utters and every gesture he makes. Nonetheless, Red Dragon never quite comes together. Given the talented cast, I assume the problem lies with director Bret Ratner. Like other Ratner films I’ve seen, its clear he has the technical skill to shoot a film but lacks the spark to draw out the level of emotion needed and let his actors shine.
While not as good as Silence of the Lambs, the opportunity to see- Anthony Hopkins as Lechter makes Red Dragon a film worth recommending.
Making its 4K debut courtesy of Kino, Red Dragon is a good-looking film. Reportedly sourced from a new 4K scan of the original 35mm negative, details are terrific throughout. Even the smallest facial details impress. The production values are top notch. It’s obvious that a lot of thought went into the sets and lighting. A nice level of film grain is apparent throughout. The Dolby Vision HDR offers some subtle improvements to colors, black levels and whites. The palette is generally dark, but brief scenes of Florida beaches look wonderfully bright. There are no apparent print flaws or anomalies.
Kino offers up two standard audio tracks. An English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Personally, I prefer the 5.1 track, as it offers more oomph during action sequences. Danny Elfman’s score blends well. Dialogue is clean, clear and concise throughout.
English SDH subtitles are included.
The following previously released extras are included:
4K UHD Disc:
- Audio Commentary with Director Brett Ratner and Screenwriter Ted Tally
- Danny Elfman Isolated Score with Commentary
Blu-ray Disc:
- Audio Commentary with Director Brett Ratner and Screenwriter Ted Tally
- Danny Elfman Isolated Score with Commentary
- The Making of Red Dragon: Featurette (HD, 14:19)
- A Director’s Journey: Documentary (HD, 39:27)
- Visual Effects: Featurette (HD, 4:26)
- Screen and Film Tests: Featurette (HD, 11:43)
- Anthony Hopkins – Lecter and I: Featurette (HD, 4:25)
- The Burning Wheelchair: Featurette (HD, 4:01)
- The Leeds’ House Crime Scene: Featurette (HD, 3:38)
- Makeup Application: Featurette (HD, 0:45)
- Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer – Hosted by John Douglas: Featurette (HD, 8:16)
- 7 Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by Ratner, Tally and Editor Mark Helfrich (HD, 5:23)
- 4 Alternate Scenes with Optional Commentary by Ratner, Tally and Helfrich (HD, 4:34)
- 3 Extended Scenes with Optional Commentary by Ratner, Tally and Helfrich (HD, 2:28)
- Storyboard to Final Film Comparison (HD, 8:38)
- Brett Ratner’s Student Film (HD, 3:37)
- Theatrical Trailer
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